Anatomy (Human)/average head size for an adult male

jl wrote at 2008-07-29 04:12:02
Hey i just wanted to say that totally understand where you are coming from. I am 24, 6'2'' tall, 185 lbs, and my head circumference is 23 inches. that is not quite as small as yours, but remember that i am 6'2''. I am writing this to encourage you because i am about to start medical school. Having a head that is smaller than average is not a big deal, and it does not lower your mental capabilities. You mentioned you were a math guy, and i am too. So, lets talk about math. Your head is 16 to 17 inches, mine is 23, and we are at the lower end of the "average" head size scale (microcephalic if you will). But "average" doesnt mean "all". Some are below, some are above, and some are average. WE are the lucky bottom feeders :) jk. But all joking aside, do not let your head size get you down, because from what you say, you sound as if you are "above" average intelligence;)

later man, hope you are doing well

Oliver wrote at 2008-08-08 10:09:26
Jose,

While Paul's answer is politically correct, it is not factually correct.

As common sense would tell you, a larger brain has, on average, has more power. Naturally, other factors such as brain efficiency mean that size is not the only factor. Further, head size is crude proxy for brain size due to variance in the thickness of the skull and other anatomical features of the head.

The correlation between brain size and IQ across a range of studies is about 0.2. The correlation between actual brain size and IQ is 0.4-0.5.

The upshot, the head is just a proxy for intelligence. If you have actual intellectual performance measures it becomes irrelevant.

Once you have seen a film you don't have to rely on the previews.

Oliver

hello wrote at 2008-11-27 06:33:09
Paul -

American Negroid?? Where and when did you get your education? Try "African American" or "Black American".

Brendan wrote at 2009-04-13 01:15:04
There absolutely is a direct correlation between cranium size and intelligence. It revolves around the idea of peripheral tissue growth in the outer cortex frontal lobe regions. The evolutionary trend of increased metabolic functions and intelligence derived from increased tissue size and diversity and an exponential growth in all directions from the brain stem outward. There is no reason to believe we have come to an evolutionary stop sign. Sorry. There is an old eastern philosophy that relates the growth of the earlobe and intelligence. Just an appendage of the outer cranium although this isn't exactly correct. But it sure did Buddha look smart!

name wrote at 2009-08-06 19:19:24
"There is absolutely no correlation with head circumference to IQ, and you are the perfect example where you are excelling in the difficult area of mathematics"

-Incorrect

But, the brain does more than just pass IQ tests. For instance, a person with a larger body requires a larger brain to use the larger body. I would say that your head is a tad bit small for your height, but then again, you only measured the circumference.

James wrote at 2009-08-31 05:11:35
jl, 23 inches is above average head circumference even for your height, so not sure where you got the idea your head is small from! A study in Turkey found average adult male head circumference to be exactly 22inches (55.9cm). You're a full inch above this and this is more than the corresponding average increase for being 4 inches above average height.

Tom wrote at 2010-03-02 05:21:26
Dear Jose,

I agree with Dr. Paul, that you are not a freak for having that head circumference.

Probably you would be more interested to know "HOW TO MAKE YOUR HEAD GROW BIGGER?".

You may try to learn, and practise meditation. But make sure that you learn the correct methods.

Most of the cultivators who are good in meditation, have bigger head than ordinary men. No harm trying it.

Syntheta wrote at 2010-06-30 08:14:40
So, the standard deviation must be a bit then, because I'm a 5'6, 52kg female with a 58cm head circumference.

But then I know a guy with 62cm circumference (he's 5'10).

What percentiles are those?

I is doing teh mathematical physics... :D

Dragonthatrigglesthroughsky wrote at 2010-10-27 09:03:15
Contemplate factors such as: number of Dendrites per neuron, number of Synapses per Axon, Neuron population count (density), ratios of lobes, quality of Axons and any sub properties of all this matter..

Also the endocrine system should be considered.... it's fairly complex. I have gone into no detail here.

Both parties in this diaclectic express some 'truths', you are examining a puddle, consider the ocean. Read.

Anthony wrote at 2010-11-12 11:00:28
My head is 24 and a half inches in diameter. Personal theory is that my dads boosted testosterone levels in the Vietnam War contributed. Contribution was made during my conception in 1970, one year after the worst part of the war he was involved in. Could've also been him being sprayed with some type of poison over there, P.C.B. tainted drinking water in silicone valley California during the 1970's, heredity, some or all. Don't know anyone in my immediate family with as large of a head as me, they,re close to the average male 22' dia. range. Average size body and large head may not mix. Extra weight of head may be cause of my quarter bend to each c-1 thru c-5 vertebrea. Unusual bending of these bones began at birth. Could've been worse if I did't exercise 3 hours a week and eat my blended fruits, vegetables, 100 grams of protien, no more than 200 gram carbohydrate, 55 grams of fat daily diet. Maintenance of muscles around neck is vital for me on this bent frame of mines. Helps buffer semi- daily to daily early morning migrane headaches origionating at deformed vertebrea. Don't know how society sees it, but I'm content with it.

I beg of you, find a way to post a picture of your self, if you'd kindly oblige. I'm incredulous..

Also, no one has mentioned High functioning Autism...

Blue wrote at 2011-02-23 04:33:17
I'm Female. Height is 4'11" and my head measures 23"

My boyfriend is 5'6-7ish and his is 25" .. and he has a huge head might I add (it almost looks abnormal). Mine looks small for some reason..at least to me it does :P

Tiapos wrote at 2011-03-20 00:03:20
I don't where in the world Einstein got that quoted Turkey study of average male head is "exactly 22 inches" but either he misread or he read one from a joke post somewhere and "Turkey" would surely apply. Ave female head is over 22 and males tend on average to be roughly half and inch larger. Average for males varies within an inch either way of 23 (i.e 22-24) best I have ever read about. It's one of those things that just varies based on different factors

hadi wrote at 2011-07-11 10:11:19
Current studies show that head size and hence brain size doesn't affect intelligence , but some studies show that round heads

tend to be smarter . Albert Einstein had a small brain .

Terri wrote at 2011-08-06 13:48:08
Hello, my 14 year old son has a head size of 62 cm and is a high functing austic. Have a hard time finding t shirts to go over his head. :)

Ben wrote at 2011-11-06 12:02:02
XS - 21/21.5 inches

S - 22/22.5 inches

M - 23/23.5 inches

L - 24/24.5 inches

XL - 25/25.5 inches

Average for men - 23-24 inches

Average for women - 22-23 inches

Nik wrote at 2012-05-24 16:42:51
I believe big heads do have more mental power and capacity but are more likely to have weaker will and therefore be attacked by demons and turn the person into a zombie (autistic). I discovered that with strong will and faith you can learn how to drive the energy and emotions the right way and remove demons and use your brain the way it was intended. Having a lot of brain has it's rewards like intense emotions and sensations, high consciousness about the world, living as a polymath, memorizing complexity, ability to see the spiritual world, demons and angels,making positive changes in the spiritual world...

Tobias wrote at 2012-06-19 13:03:45
So *that's* why the autistic kid at the bus-stop drools and wants to eat my brain! Seriously Nik, you're a nutter.

Blitz442 wrote at 2012-07-24 16:56:24
I disagree with Tiapos and Ben, particularly on the female averages that they cite. According to this study, which plots the relationship between head circumference and height (head circumference tends to increase with height), it can be clearly seen that the head circumference for an average-sized woman clusters around 55 centimeters (appx 21.6 inches). There appears to be no women in the entire study with head circumferences greater than 59 centimeters (23.6 inches). Therefore a more reasonable range for an average female head circumference is 21-22 inches, not 22-23.

For a man who is 180 centimeters tall (almost 5'11"#, a head circumference of 58 centimeters #22.8 inches# would place him about in the 50th percentile. A head circumference of 60 cm #23.6 inches# for a man of the same height would put him in the 90th percentile. A 59 cm #23 inch# measurement is the 50th percentile only for tall men #over 6'2".# Therefore, a better male average would be 22-23 inches.

By the way, the largest male head circumferences measured in this study appear to be about 63 cm #24.8 inches#, so those of you claiming head circumferences of greater than 24 inches are either extreme outliers or are not measuring properly.

MSD wrote at 2012-08-07 13:43:34
i have been reading all this.. as i am concerned too...

i am 5 feet,7inches but my head is very small in proportion to my body.. it's 45cm (17inch). i am university students and my performance in exams is better than many.. but still it worries me a lot as Physical Appearance also matters. :(

Dr. Gaurav wrote at 2012-10-01 19:23:54
There is some correlation between head circumference and intelligence though that is not the end of the story. Larger bodies require larger heads to function optimally. So the head to body ratio is a better measure. A 23 inch circumference on a 5'9" person would have more significance than a 23" circumference on a 6'2 inch person. Intelligence is largely hereditary. The so called 'wiring' during early childhood also plays a big part in adult intelligence.

The circumference does not have a perfect correlation with either the size of the cranium(the skull can have different shapes)or the amount of 'brain' it carries.

Lastly, Autism is associated with significantly large heads.

kosey wrote at 2013-02-15 17:37:23
i am 66" 5'6 for those of you who dont know inches i have seen forensics of people identified as to what ethnicity they are by there had and eye circumfrence soforth iam full blood comanche i have my head is 21" and i have a iq of 123 so idon belive the size of your head has anything t do with intelligence...udah... have a blessed day..

Kelly wrote at 2013-03-10 19:53:44
I am a woman, 5'7" and a head circumference of 23.5. I have an IQ of 142 / borderline genius. I have minimal common sense and at the age of 40 have not solved any of the world's great problems. Success does not equal head circumference does not equal IQ. Remember that just because something seems to occur at the same time of something else does not mean you can automatically say that they directly impact each other.

me wrote at 2013-09-25 13:40:24
To everyone with an oversized head, Google cowden syndrome

lollipop head wrote at 2013-12-09 21:17:33
Most definitely, head circumference is related to height and size. Very few studies have looked at this, but you can search under the NIH and find a couple studies. I'm just under 6-4 and my head measures 58.5cm exactly. Linear regression models show (or prove if you will) that height is related to head size. Now, would I wish for a slightly smaller size head? Yes, because I like to wear hats. But, if you look at the graph my size, my head is just under the 50% mark for head size. If you take out height my head size is well above the 90% mark.

Mike wrote at 2014-10-01 04:02:21
My head is 62.865 (24.75 inches) in diameter. My IQ tends to be scored between 132-135. Just smart enough to be miserable and somewhat disconnected (it's hard to find someone like myself to talk to where I live), and not smart enough to be miserable and rich or holed up in a good physics department. My primary intellectual talent lies in modeling/problem solving and prediction. I suppose that stems from the ability to recognize patterns. Curiously, I'm very average mathematically. I might have Aspergian traits, though I know that I would not be diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome (it's part of my profession to be familiar with this particular differential diagnosis). Though, I do believe that growing up economically disadvantaged limits the potential for achievement if not intelligence development. Part of that is that you are much less likely to know individuals within 20 IQ points (and that's being generous), which is the difference between a person of an average 100 IQ and a borderline intellectually disabled (MR) person - (no offense to the guys and girls from my neighborhood). Interestingly, my father was also a Vietnam war vet. He developed lymphoma from Agent Orange exposure.

Travis wrote at 2015-11-15 09:39:33
Those claiming a correlation between head size and intelligence are going to have to explain the crow to all of us.

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